A native of Rumford, Ed Muskie graduated from Bates College, and earned his law degree from Cornell University. He later served in the Maine Legislature, both the House and Senate, and was elected governor in 1954. He went onto the US Senate from 1959 to 1980. He used his position to protect the environment in Maine and the nation, earning him the nickname, “Mr. Clean.”

When campaigning for the 1970 Clean Air Act, Muskie demonstrated his devotion to environmental advocacy saying,
We should all understand that we are all in the same boat. That what happens to our environment must make a difference to all of us, whoever we are. And that what happens to each of us, must make a difference to the rest of us. So we must reclaim the total human environment.